Almond separator



Jan. 30, 1923.

A. R, STEPHEN. ALMOND SEPARATOR. Fl LED Aus. 30,

2 SHEETS'SHEET l INVENTOR.

A.R.Ste hen) ATTORNEY A. R, STEPHEN. ALMOND SEPARATOR.

F; LED Aus. 30. 1920. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN VEN TOR.

A TTORNEY Patented Jan. 39, 1923.

ALMOND SEPARA'IOB. I

Application filed August 30, 1920.

T0 ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AROHIBALD R. STE- lI-HJN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Lodi, county of San Joaquin, State of California,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Almond Separators;and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, and. to the characters of reference marked thereon, which forma part of this application.

This invention relates to improvements in almond separating devices, andis particularly intended to be used in connection with my improvedalmond huller, an application for patent which was filed November 22nd,1919, Serial No. $410,027, and allowed June 15th, 1920,

The principal object of this invention is to provide a device by meansof which the almonds received from the huller will be separated from thehulls intermingled therewith in such a manner that but a few if anyhulls will be left with the almonds discharged from the separator.

A second object is to provide a means for preventing any of the almondsor hulls from sticking in the screens, or rather for releasing them whenonce so caught in the screen-mesh, and in such a manner that the almondswill not be damaged or chipped in the least.

A third object is to provide a blower arranged to direct a current ofair across the discharge opening from the huller between said openingand the topmost screen, and into an enlarged pipe, carried to theoutside of the building or any suitable distance away from theseparator. This current of air acts against the almonds and hullsdroppin from the huller, and while not powerful enough to force the sameinto the discharge pipe, carries away all the leaves and the lighthull-fluff and fuzz, which latterusually' rise in the air around aseparatorand are breathed by the workers to their discomfort and to thedetriment of their health. For this reason separatorwork is usuallylooked forward to with dislike and dread of possible injuriousconsequences.

With my improved device however, this obnoxious feature is eliminated.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice,

Serial No. 486,904.

and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purposes forwhich it is de- Fig. l is a side elevation of my improved separator.

Fig. 2 is a half end elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detachedview of a screen-agitating means.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the preferred form of screenused.

Fig. 5v is a top plan view ofthe screensupport brackets, showing theadjustability thereof.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section taken ,on

the line 66 of Fig. 1, showing the means for adjusting the brushes. 1

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawings, the

numeral 1 denotes a suitable and vertical.

framework preferably rectangular, on top of which at one end andtransversely thereof is a. huller 2 of the type shown intheaforementioned application.

The under side of this huller is enclosed with sheet-metal plates 3, theones 3 which extend longitudinally of the huller but transversely of theframe converging toward each other below the hul-ler to form a dischargeoutlet 4. T

lositioned just below the termination of the plate 3 and extendinglengthwise thereof is the outlet or nozzle 5 of a .blower 6 mounted onthe frame 1, there being a discharge pipe 7 opposite the nozzle 5 andbeyond the huller-discharge opening 4, said pipe leading away from theseparator to the outside of the building or any other suitable point.

Adjacent the outlet l, this pipe is preferably rectangular, and haspivoted therein near the bottom a horizontal rod 8 having upstandingprongs 9, so spaced as to prevent any almonds from passing therebetween.The rod 8 however is turnable so that the prongs may be moved to leave afree passage through the pipe 7 in the event that it is desired to allowhulls to pass therethrough, these being lighter blown along by theair-blast. would drop and hit the prongs adjacent the rod.

Below the huller-outlet and blower nozzle and discharge and extendinglengthwise the frame 1 is a stack of horizontal screens 10 spacedvertically a desired distance and connected together by a frame 10 toform a rigid unit independent of the frame.

Each screen comprises a rectangular framework 11 and transverse andhorizontally waved wires 12, those on the different frames being spacedapart decreasing di tances from the topmost to the lowermost screen.

To keep the wires spaced in proper relation midway of the width of theframes. l Pl'OYlClQ vertical spacer-strips l 'i extending lengtnwise ofthe tray-frames, and through which the wires pass.

The screen-frame ll) mounted on l1l(l ory or some similar elasticsupports ll. which are set at a longitudinal angle and fixed tolongitudinally adjustable braclmts 15 on the frame 1. The adjustment ofthese brackets individually ma be had by reason of longitudinal slots 15in the foot pads 15" of the brackets, through which pass clamping bolts15 embedded or fixed in the longitudinal beams 1 of the frame 1.

To impart a longitudinal agitating movement of a jerky nature to thescreens, I provide longitudinal beams 16, preferably of some elastichardwood, fixed to the under side of the lowermost screen adjacent theouter edges thereof and extending downwardly at an acute angle. Into thelower ends of these beams are fixed rods 17 which are adjustablyconnected to eccentric straps 18 turnably mounted on eccentric portions19 formed on a transverse driven shaft 20 mounted to the frame 1. therebeing a fly wheel 20 on this shaft to insure steady movement.

When this shaft is rotated at a proper and fairly high speed, the screenstructure is caused to be agitated back and forth and through a slightdistance vertically, the ex tent of. such movement being governed byadjusting the brackets 15 and the rods l'i' relative to the straps 18.

Under the screen structure and extending lengthwise thereof between thebeams l6 and supports 14 is an endless driven conveyor belt 21, ofcanvas or other suitable material. adapted to carry away the hullsdropping through the lowermost screen.

To insure the hulls dropping onto the conveyor, guide plates 22 arepositioned under the lower screen to the frame 10 and slant inwardlytoward the conveyor.

The majority of hulls however will not pass through to the lowestscreen, but will be held on the upper ones, and will move toward thatend of the screens farthest from the huller by reason of the agitatingof the screens, to be deposited in a chute or trough 2- leading to anydesired point.

The ends of the two succeedii'ig screws below this are provided with adischarge chute 24 onto which the nuts fall after traversing the lengthof the screens, from which chute the nuts may be conveyed where desired.

To prevent any almonds or hulls from sticking between the wires of thescreens, I provide transverse brushes 25 under each screen, preferablyhaving flexible steel bristles which project slightly between thescreen-wires.

These brushes are all mounted for vertical adjustment to a commonvertical framework 26 outside the screen frames but i uside the mainframes 1, the frame 26 having vertically spaced rollers 27 on each sideruni'iing on horizontal tracks 28 fixed to the frame 1. Individualadjustment of the brushes and at either end is obtained by means of thefollowing structure: The frames 26 are either slotted vertically or eachformed as a pair of transversely spaced and parallel bars, as shown inFigs. 2 and 6. -The back-bars or frames 25 of the brushes extend overand rest against these fran'ie members 26 and have clamping bolts 25*passing between the frames and then through washers 25 bearing againstthe opposite edges of the members 26. In this manner, by loosening thebolts, the brush members may be raised or lowered at either end, orboth, as may be desired.

There are two such brushes for each screen, each brush being arranged tomove along one-half of the screen, so that a pair of brushes thus takescare of the entire screenarea. This movement is imparted to thebrush-frame as follows :Journalcd on the frame 1 in horizontal alinementon each side of the frame 26 and spaced apart lengthwise a distanceequal to half the length of the screens are procket wheels 29, one ofwhich on each side is driven. An endless chain 30 passes over each pairof sprockets, and from one link thereof a flexible connection 31 extendsto the frame 26 and is fixed thereto at a point on the line between thesprocketcenters. This frame is of course so positioned relative to itsconnection with the chain that with the movement of the chain from onesprocket to the other, the frame 26 will be similarly moved from one endof the screen-frame to the half-way point thereon.

The connection 31 is preferably a coiled spring mounted on horizontalpins, so that it may be longer than the radius of the sprockets, so asto pull at an angle and at the same time allow it to contract so as topermit it passing around the sprockets at the end of its travel in onedirection Without buckling.

In practice, 1 preferably connect the huller-shaft 2 direct to thepower, and from this shaft run a belt drive 32 to the blower, a chaindrive 33 to the shaft 20, and a chain drive 34 to one of each of thesprockets 29.

This arrangement may however be varied as may be found desirable orconvenient.

In operation, the hulls and almonds drop from the huller onto thetopmost screen While being subjected to the air-blast from the blower,which carries away all leaves and light fluff and dust.

T he topmost screen is preferably only half the length of the remainder,and this screen, together with the adjacent one underneath, carry thelarge hulls over to the conveyor 23, the nuts and smaller hulls andparts dropping through onto the lower screens and onto the chute 24, thelowest screen having such narrow Wire-spacing as to prevent any nutspassing therethrough, but only the small pieces of hull and the like.

At the same time, the brushes are constantly moving back and forth underthe screens, immediately loosening any nuts or hulls tending to stickbetween the Wires, and on account of their flexibility, preventing thenut from being damaged or the screen- Wires from becoming bent out ofproper alinement.

From the foregoing description it Will be readily seen that I haveproduced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of theinventionas set forth herein.

*While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction of the device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as defined by the appended claim.

Having thu described my invention, What I claim as new and useful anddesire to se-' brushes on said movable frame extending under all thescreens, an endless flexible drive extending lengthwise of the movableframe and elastic means connected to the drive and the movable frame.

In testnnony whereof I aflix my slgnature.

ARGHIBALD R. STEPHEN.

